Reservoir construction begins

EOWYN LeMAY IVEY-Frontiersman reporter

The City of Wasilla is on its way to getting a million-gallon boost to its water capacity and expanding it service area.

The council last week awarded a $1.5 million contract to Rockford Corp. to begin construction of the Bumpus Reservoir Facility. The aboveground, million-gallon water tank will be erected in the Bumpus Ballfield area and will increase the city's water capacity by a third.

City officials said workers are clearing the site for construction, and the reservoir is expected to come on line by fall.

Along with the added capacity will come an expansion of the city's service area, with water pipes being extended to the Bumpus area and to the site of the multi-use sports complex off South Church Road. The water extension will go out in a separate bid sometime in the near future.

Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller describes the projects as being an integral part of city infrastructure needs. As a member of the council, she actively supported the water system improvements.

"The city is growing so rapidly, we just can't keep up," said Public Works Director Don Shiesl.

He said it isn't clear yet how many more customers will tap into the system after the reservoir and extensions are completed, but he said the city already has heard from interested landowners who want to hook up to the water main when it is extended near their property.

Another driving factor in the need to extend the water system was the multi-use sports complex.

The $15 million ice arena and indoor turf complex is being built this summer, and Shiesl said the city recognized it would demand more city water.

The ice rink itself will not be the biggest drain on the water system, but rather the patrons who attend games and other events at the sports arena.

Shiesl said the city doesn't know just how much water will be needed to service the arena.

"We don't have a feel for that yet, but we will have more than enough water," Shiesl said.

Shiesl said the city's other reservoirs are all in good working shape and the Bumpus addition will only add to the existing capacity.

While this might all be good news for sports fans and Wasilla residents wanting city water, the new reservoir and expansion do come with a cost.

Grants will pay a large portion of the expansion, but Shiesl said the city still had to pick up about $3 million. This bill will be paid for through low-interest loans from the federal and state government, averaging about 2 or 3 percent interest and stretched over several decades. The city's annual payment on these loans will be about $280,000.

Those Wasilla residents who already have water service won't see much benefit from this investment, but they may notice some other ongoing improvements. The city is continuing to upgrade its water meter system.

Shiesl said the public works department is replacing the old water meters at a rate of about five per day. The new meters can be read from outside using an electronic device.

Shiesl said the replacement meters might not save much money in the short term, but as more residents hook up to city water, the savings could increase.

At the same time, he said he expects the updated technology to make for more accurate readings since it doesn't require the meter readers to physically copy the numbers off the meter.